Peace and Tranquility at the Red Cedar Lodge

Picture a full kitchen that you can cook in, a deck looking out on the Cedar River, a path that leads to the water, a fireplace,  a master bedroom, bedroom and loft and you get an idea of what the Red Cedar Lodge has to offer.   There are three lovely log-sided cabin vacation rentals that offer room for 8-10 guests.

Red Cedar Lodge was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Lodge by Iowa Toursim.  This is a place to get away from it all, a place of peace and tranquility and a place I want to get back to as quickly as I can!

I went on recent press trip as part of a group of Midwest Travel Bloggers on a mission to see what Charles City, Iowa had to offer.  Tom and Lorraine Winterink opened up their cabins to us and I shared a cabin with fellow travel blogger Theresa, The Local Tourist. We two Illinois girls got along wonderfully, Theresa is from the Chicago area, and I hail from rural central Illinois. We got up early in the morning, took in the quiet of break of day and worked on our various projects before catching up with  Chrysa of Thrifty Jinxy from Minnesota, and Sara  of Traveling with Sara.

Besides being a local Iowan, Sara, along with Lisa of the  Walking Tourists heads up the Midwest Travel Bloggers.  Each morning after working for an hour or so, during our two-day stay, I took a walk down a lovely path where I hoped to see a bit of wild life.  One morning Theresa and I saw a Tom Turkey courting his potential mate.

Theresa and I would  then meet up with Chrysa and Sara before heading off to our next adventure.  In the evenings we returned, kicked back and enjoyed the wonderful ambience of the Red Cedar Lodge.

It amazed me how much you can do and how much reflection can take place in a quiet getaway. Although the cabins are located just a short  two miles drive from town on Business 218, the Lodge is super easy to find. Once there, I felt  like I was back in the woods and could just feel the stress rolling off me when I headed for the serenity the Lodge had to offer.

This is what the Winterinks, Tom and Lorraine Winterink wanted, to get away from it all  and the stress of a high powered career.  They  decided to pull up roots, leave the Southwest and come back to the Midwest.

Tom was from Charles City, Iowa and Lorraine from Ohio, they were not sure which state they wanted to relocate in, but when Tom saw the former farm with a cabin from the 1850’s that was for sale, they had their answer.

There is a lot of history on this piece of ground.  Joseph Kelly of Monroe, Wisconsin was the 2nd settler in Floyd County and is known as the founding father of Charles City. He purchased the land where the Red Cedar Lodge is located in September of 1853. As far as the cabin that fascinated the Winternicks and still captures the attention of visitors today, they think it is a Norwegian built cabin and that it was built in 1855 or earlier.

Moving back to the area with their daughter Madison,the couple that loved to stay in historic hotels and luxury lodges found they had a knack for offering luxury accommodations right in their own backyard.

Today, visitors can come to the Red Cedar Lodge, like we did for a group trip, a girl friends getaway, or a romantic weekend.  Besides the lovely cabins, there is a lot to do at the lodge year round.  The Winternicks offer canoes and kayaks, a shuttle, fishing on the Cedar River, relaxing in the hot tub or relaxing at the fire pit.  During the winter months snowmobiling is a popular way to spend time, or you can also do like I want to do,just come back, grab a book and chill.

For more information about Red Cedar Lodge, log onto www.theredcedrlodge.com.

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